San Diego News Fix

J Harry Jones, Lori Weisberg, Charles Clark, Sam Hodgson and Micheal Smolens discuss the most important election results after California's primary. J Harry Jones on Measures A and B https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/story/2020-03-03/measures-ab-election-sotryLori Weisberg on Measure C https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2020-03-03/hotel-tax-hike-measure-showing-strong-support-in-early-returnsCharles Clark on CA-53: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2020-03-03/congressional-races-shaping-up-as-early-primary-results-roll-inSam Hodgson on CA-50 https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2020-03-03/campa-najjar-leads-in-early-vote-count-for-50th-congressional-district-issa-and-demaio-are-neck-and-neckMicheal Smolens on the state of the Democrats: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/columnists/story/2020-03-03/unity-may-be-a-pipe

The San Diego Union-Tribune's political columnist, Michael Smolens, discusses the state of play as the first results of Super Tuesday come in.

Nearly 300,000 voters had returned their mail ballots to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters as of Friday morning.Yet Michael Vu, the county’s Registrar of Voters, is encouraging more voters to get a jump on Election Day by casting ballots over the weekend and Monday, at the registrar’s office or at four new satellite registrar locations.“If you are not registered to vote and want to participate, put it on your to-do list to get to the registrar’s office or the satellite offices this weekend,” Vu said by phone Friday. “If you can’t do that, get to your assigned polling location on Election Day.”Tuesday’s election will be one of the most complex elections in San Diego history. Here’s what voters need to know to make voting easier.Story: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2020-02-28/what-san-diegans-need-to-know-to-vote-on-or-before-tuesdays-primary-electionVoting guide: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/votingguideEndorsements: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2020endorsements

A few years back, San Diego gave the OK to a plan to install energy-saving, and money-saving, LED street lights.Those street lights had the tech world a buzz. San Diego was deploying the world’s largest smart-city platform, installing high-tech, data-gathering sensors on the street lights. The plan was to track movements of cars and people, particularly in urban and busy areas. Deeper understanding of mobility could follow. Apps could be developed.Turned out that all that data-gathering required installing cameras on 3,000 street lights. For the public, that revelation last year was a surprise. And not only did all those cameras exist — covering about 5 percent of the city’s public right-of-way — but police were accessing footage.Among critics, fears of mass surveillance, over-targeting of communities of color, and potential civil-rights abuses followed. Mistrust surfaced, too.

Following years of loggerheads, industry leaders, environmentalists and community leaders came together to develop a new “Transition Zone" in Barrio Logan. That neighborhood has always been plagued with toxic air, due to the shipyards and industry located along the San Diego Bay, and it's often invoked as an example of environmental racism. The zone would hopefully improve environmental conditions in the area. This idea was attempted back in 2013, but San Diego voters revoked the plan. With a renewed focus, stakeholders are more confident this new transition zone would prove successful.

The retirement of Congressman Susan Davis created a wide open race for California’s 53rd Congressional District. The district includes much of central San Diego including Balboa Park adjacent neighborhoods, Mission Valley all the way into El Cajon, and much of eastern Chula Vista. This is a heavily democratic district, and it is fairly likely that two democrats will advance to the general election.

Chelsea King’s disappearance a decade ago gripped the region. The 17-year-old had gone for an after-school run around Lake Hodges in North County. There, she ran into a rapist and killer. Within months, the college-bound runner who loved sunflowers became the name of legislation targeting sex predators who target children. She became the inspiration behind an annual run. She also became the face of a foundation that has awarded $800,000 in college scholarships. And on Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of her kidnapping, rape and murder, Chelsea’s father has announced he will launch Protect the Joy, which he said will be a national advocacy organization to address issues that affect children, including sexual assault, gun violence, opioid abuse or cyber-bullying.

It’s been more than a year since President Donald Trump’s Remain in Mexico program has effectively blocked the ability for most people to claim asylum in the United States…. And now thousands of people wait to have their cases heard while living in Mexico. Even though this migration crisis doesn’t have the same visual impact as the migrant caravan… thousands of people remain displaced, hanging on to hope that they can start a new life in the U.S. The current barriers raise the question: How restrictrive should an asylum system -- which was born out of the failures of the West to save Jews killed in the Holocaust -- be before it becomes a farce? Story:https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/immigration/story/2020-02-24/protecting-the-worlds-most-vulnerable-what-it-takes-to-make-a-case-under-us-asylum-system

Come March 3, voters will finally weigh in on the proposed room tax hike, which, if approved, would generate nearly $7 billion over more than four decades — enough money, its supporters say, to enlarge the convention center by 50 percent, help get homeless families and individuals off the streets, and repave 150 miles of roads every year.

San Diego County in the past year has become more aggressive about addressing some of its most pressing issues, said Greg Cox, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Residents should know that new approach isn’t going away anytime soon, Cox said during the annual State of the County address Wednesday night. From expanding mental health services and renewable energy projects, to launching new education programs and initiatives to assist foster youths, Cox said the supervisors will continue to take a more forceful approach in the year ahead. “Your County of San Diego has new energy and momentum to tackle the critical issues of today and, working with my colleagues, we are going to take giant leaps in 2020,” Cox told a packed house aboard the USS Midway Museum.

In January AB 218 went into effect, allowing for sexual assault victims to sue on claims formerly barred by statues of limitations. This means that thousands of individuals who were abused as children are coming forward with allegations. Among the hard hit youth-based organizations: the Boy Scouts of America. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the organization has put on hold hundreds of lawsuits brought against it. But it’s still unclear what this means to the local councils that directly oversee Scout troops. That’s a crucial question for the San Diego-Imperial Council, whose assets include cash reserves and Mataguay, a 1,000-acre camping and canoeing reservation in Santa Ysabel.

Two San Diego women have created an app for travelers that’s gaining a sizable following of nomadic young people living out of vans. Inspired by a social media phenomenon, Breanne Acio, a former San Diego State University lecturer, and public relations worker Jessica Shisler teamed up in 2018 to pave the way for the drifter movement known online as “vanlife.” They created a mobile application, aptly called The Vanlife App, that’s just secured the two women spots in a competitive Techstars accelerator program for promising startups. The app currently connects longterm travelers with one another while on the road, solving the problem of loneliness that weighs on this group of individuals. The downside of a nomadic lifestyle is that you have no community, Shisler said. “You’re constantly in places you don’t know and around people you don’t know,” Shisler said. “You’re never a local.” For those who haven’t heard of it, “vanlife” refers to a recent bohemian trend of people buying cargo vans, old ambulances, school

An attempt last year to separate low-income renters from market-rate renters in an East Village apartment building elicited a lot of anger. Now, one lawmaker is trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, plans to introduce legislation this week to stop developers from separating groups of renters in their building design. She is announcing the bill at a press conference Monday at 10 a.m. at the Alpha Lofts subsidized housing complex at 3808 El Cajon Blvd. Gonzalez will also introduce legislation to create greater incentives for developers to build rent-restricted housing.

The board that oversees the Del Mar Fairgrounds has approved the return of the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in March, despite new concerns raised by firearms safety advocates. NeverAgainCA founders Ira and Rose Ann Sharp of Del Mar told the fair board at its meeting last week that an increasing number of sales at the show are "ghost gun" kits that can be purchased and taken home the same day. The kits are not considered firearms for legal purposes because they are incomplete and require assembly, so most California firearms laws don't apply to them. Also, the weapons don't have a serial number, which can be used to track sales. "Crossroads sells Saturday night specials on steroids," Ira Sharp told the board, and he asked the board not to renew the Crossroads contract. However, the board approved the show without comment along with dozens of other events planned for March at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Cal State San Marcos announced Wednesday that two key executives have left the university, the interim provost has resigned his position, and the dean of graduate studies is on administrative leave. The changes come as the California State University system is preparing to release an audit that examines how and why top CSUSM officials used university funds for first-class flights and five-star hotels, exceeding spending limits. The spending also has drawn the ire of CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt, who said in a public address last week, “I need you to know that this is unacceptable, and this is not what we are about. “Moving forward, we are hitting the reset button on our cultural drift.” The university said Wednesday that Mike Schroder, the dean of extended learning, and Beth Schroder, the senior director of philanthropy, are no longer with the university.

SeaWorld Entertainment announced Tuesday that it has agreed to pay $65 million to settle a longstanding lawsuit alleging that the company deceived investors when it failed to disclose early on the ill effect the anti-captivity documentary “Blackfish” was having on park attendance. The settlement comes just a week before a jury trial was to begin for the case, which originated in 2014 and was later certified as a class-action lawsuit. In a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, SeaWorld said that the settlement does not “constitute an admission, concession, or finding of any fault, liability, or wrongdoing by the Company or any defendant.” The proposed $65 million payment, says SeaWorld, is still subject to approval in federal court.

A long chain of missed opportunities led to an infected coronavirus patient mistakenly being discharged from a local hospital Sunday and then hastily returned on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UC San Diego Health on Tuesday provided additional information on how the snafu happened. The update comes as concern continues to grow about an outbreak that started in China and has now produced a positive case in San Diego County after more than 200 evacuees were delivered to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to wait out a 14-day government-mandated quarantine. Both organizations said Tuesday that the mixup started with simple mislabeling when local hospital personnel collected blood samples from three of four evacuees who showed possible coronavirus symptoms last week.

It was supposed to be the exception, not the rule, when the county Board of Supervisors finally updated the General Plan, its blueprint for growth for more than 500,000 acres in the region’s unincorporated areas. Instead, a provision that permits projects that don’t conform to the document has become a gateway for developers seeking to build thousands of homes in areas not zoned for such development. It is called the General Plan Amendment and it is at the heart of two land-use proposals on the March 3 ballot: Measures A and B. The General Plan was updated by the county nearly a decade ago in a lengthy and collaborative effort by environmentalists, builders and the community. It lays out where it is appropriate to allow homes, businesses and industry – and where it isn’t.

From traditional thin-crust Neapolitan to square pies and top-of-the-line toppings, pizza perfection can be found throughout the county, whether from a mom and pop, red-sauce Italian eatery or a trendy, upscale restaurant. And the region’s recent influx of chefs and restaurateurs from Italy — who import with them massive wood-fired pizza ovens, primo Italian 00 flour, prosciutto, San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and more — has only enriched the quality. Like Los Angeles, which is arguably the true best pizza city in the U.S., San Diego isn’t a town with hard-fast culinary traditions and carved-in-stone rules on what pizza is supposed to look like, taste like or even if it should be eaten with a fork and a knife or simply folded in your hands. That allows for the kind of freedom and creativity that might elude pizzaiolos in New York and Chicago, not to mention Naples. And like L.A., San Diego has an embarrassment of optimal fresh ingredients that can be used as toppings.

SeaWorld Entertainment says it is ending the longstanding practice of trainers riding astride dolphins in marine park shows, a move that comes nearly a year after animal-rights activists began pressuring the company to ban such “circus-style” behaviors. The decision to move away from such showy theatrics in the dolphin shows was disclosed in a letter sent earlier this month by a SeaWorld attorney to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter was addressing a shareholder proposal made last December by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which asked that SeaWorld prohibit trainers from riding on dolphins’ backs and standing on their faces. As of last December, PETA held 163 shares of SeaWorld stock and has owned at least $2,000 worth of common stock for some time.